Village

Village LP complete...yessss!

2009-05-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Walk, Talk, Rhytym, Roam is out on Itunes as of 1/20/09

2009-01-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

There's a catch though, a minor glitch perhaps. The title track, "W,T,R,R" was left off the initial itunes tracklist. We're working on the problem and anyone who might have already downloaded the record, we are making the title track available for download on our myspace page. Our apologies for the mix up.

In other news: the band is fininshing up demo sessions for the next record in our home studios here in Chicago. This one's going to be a party jam, jangle fest. Also, look out for some live dates in Chicago and Champaign in the near future. We plan to tour extensively this spring/summer or as soon as we get a new van.

much love people.
`beebs

my kind of town...

2008-03-16T14:00:00.001-07:00

summer is on the way... and we've got a new playground! ay yi yi!

Jobe Chocolates

2008-03-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

aka, six string psych master and in some remote regions of Asia, geeeetar guru gargantuan! This bad mama jama has been slaying ear drums for over ten years now. I first encountered Jobe C. in the band room back in high school. I was headed up to grab my saxophone and I heard for the first time the unmistakeable snarl of Jobe's ol' Dean Markley amplifier channeled through an og Ibanez tube screamer. You could say that my mind was blown, I remember being facsinated by the pure, raw sound he was cranking. Then I find out my big bro had already made friends with this guy and was starting a band. I immediatley enquired about any postition that they might want filled, only to be thwarted by my brother who said, "fuck you man, this is my band". Anyhow, I knew that I was destined to make music with this guy (Jobes) and before long (after cross country practices) Jobes was giving be rides home and turning me on to real rock and roll. Jobe Chocolates is nothing short of a living legend, he has that effect when you're with him, you know you are in the presence of greatness. His completely unique guitar style is nothing short of pneumonia...sick as fuck! Jobe, we love you. May your guitar always burn with desire and may your fingers never fail to grace it's strings.

2008-03-05T11:29:00.001-08:00

old reviews of our 05' release, Fire, Blood, Water

2008-02-13T17:24:00.001-08:00

POPMATTERS 2006 by Zach Adcock------------- Because of the bizarrely prolific resurgence of garage rock simplicity over the last several years, you're probably sick of hearing about this scene. Admittedly, after a while, stripped-down bands playing their guitars as loud as they can and hollering over it gets kind of old. But what happens when "garage rock" is the label a band gets because there's nothing else to call them? Such is the case of the Living Blue, a band whose sound began in that pigeonhole, but has since found its way out through complex webs of lead guitar and a massive percussive backbone that will please indie fans and stoner-rockers alike. If you think about it, isn't the point of stripping a sound all the way down, as garage rock does, just a path to building it back up again? There's a simplicity to the Living Blue's sound, but it's something natural, organic... something inherent. Besides, the Living Blue never claimed to be complicated. In fact, the band has never claimed to be anything but hard-working. Since 1998, Stephen Ucherek and Joe Prokop, then high schoolers in tiny ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Odell, Illinois, have been a musical team. In Odell, as Bloody Knuckles, they played in basements (often their own), mostly for themselves and occasionally for the few other teens who wanted the sweaty outlet of rock 'n' roll. Honing a dynamic that has been on the rise through several incarnations, Ucherek and Prokop moved to Champaign, a college town almost two hours from Odell. The band became the Blackouts, tore themselves a spot in the heart of that burgeoning scene and now, as the Living Blue and armed with a deal through Chicago's Minty Fresh Records, the band is ready to take on the world. It has been seven years since Ucherek and Prokop began playing together, and the Living Blue has made it to a point of constant improvement. 2004's Living in Blue (as the Blackouts) documented the band beginning to break out of the mold of traditional garage band, splintering the walls that once bound them. Where chords once repeated under slurred, animated vocals, the band inserted progressive, noodling lead guitars (thanks to Prokop) and a sound that stepped away from the noisy, chaotic garage bands of yore and into a realm more akin to Television and '60s psych-pop. The Living Blue fit well in a smoky barroom, but won't be out of place on indie radio, either. After a successful 2004, which found the band winning at the national level of Little Steven's Battle of the Underground Garage Bands, and also appearing on several television programs (such as the WB's One Tree Hill), the Living Blue signed to Chicago's Minty Fresh Records. The decision to sign to an indie label after playing the numbers game with the majors seems like it would be a difficult one, but according to Ucherek, it wasn't at all. Minty Fresh provided them the friendship and support of the band's members needed to shift the music to their full-time job. Bus boys no more, they went to make a record. Produced by Adam Schmitt, Fire, Blood, Water is the gritty, fiery album that has been on deck for the Living Blue for several years now. It's a marriage of the Animals and Black Sabbath with J. Mascis on lead guitar, a maelstrom that matches the poppiest moments ("Tell Me Leza") to the most mind-numbing ferocity ("Secrets"; "Conquistador") with ease. Though Fire, Blood, Water is a logical progression from Living in Blue, there is even more precision, breadth, and sprawl embedded in the new material. It's a deeper, more realized version of an already solid sound. Ucherek considers the new album to represent a "rebirth" of the band, which makes sense. "You can tell the difference between a good band and a shitty band by how they play live, so it's time to step up," he explains. "It's only going to get better." This mindset is evidenced by the band's hometown record release show in Champaign last August, a show both the Living Blue and its fans claim to be, bar none, the most powerful show the band has played to date. Perhaps the fact that a hometown record release show could trump playing in front of 15,000 at Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival says more about the band than anything. The Living Blue has just returned from a west coast tour and is ready to take off for the east, kicking it off with shows in Champaign and Chicago (with the M's). "The live show is kicking ass in a place it's never been," Ucherek says. "We're just going to make sure there are strings on the guitars and that the van's running, and stay on the road." The Living Blue satiates the desire for rock 'n' roll that is straightforward, but doesn't feel bullheaded, proof that there is something to be said for breaking the mold, for taking the basics of rock music apart piece by piece and reassembling them. The Living Blue knows the rules and knows how to break them, too; it's a push-pull of gigantic proportions. At the end of the day, the Living Blue is on pace not only to be great, but to be important, too. -Zach Adcock, Popmatters ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Living Blue Fire, Blood, Water (Minty Fresh) With full-bodied guitars and well-moulded melodies, Champaign, Illinois' The Living Blue, formerly known as the Blackouts, blend elements of late-70s punk, 80s alternative and touches of post-punk and garage revivalism for a rock-solid, nearly timeless sound. The bands conspiring guitars and frontman Stephen Uchereks tough but tender singing (with faint traces of a fake British accent) neatly connect the dots, joining Sex Pistols riffage, Pixies progressions, Stranglers organ, Echo and the Bunnymen vocals, Beatles hooks and Hives swagger. That said, this aint a plagiarized patchwork, but a pop-tainted punk record that pushes almost all the right buttons. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) the Montreal Mirror ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like it or not, the garage rock revival is not over yet. There's still at least one more crop of fresh faced, snotty rockers our to prove their worth, but at least they love their pop, too. Fire, Blood, Water is packed with electricity and pout, with fun licks and shimmying vocals. Opener "State of Affairs" sets the album off with a bang and a sprint into "Murderous Youth". "Serrated Friend" pulses with a "four on the floor" verse and a howler of a chorus. Dirty six string textures and the psychedelic yowls from Stephen Ucherek make "Secrets" a hands down winner with an innovative take on traditional garage rock. Barroom rock loves power pop if you can just get them in the same room - the Shins know that. In the same way, "Fire, Blood, Water" is a suprisingly affective debut. (Katie Hasty) Billboard Magazine

souljah man, be decent to me crops yo...

2008-02-09T16:13:00.001-08:00

we miss you Kurt

2008-01-18T14:44:00.001-08:00

new year's resolution...more yoga

2008-01-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

actually, thats beebs working on some new stage moves.

big ups to Quenchers Saloon in the Chi-town for letting us throw down, and to all you beautiful Chicago folk who came out and brought in the new year with style...we love you all~

I'm workin' on booking some more dates in the Midwest. we'll be back out soon. here's to making 08' one for the books. lets get rid of all that dead weight...get lean and keen, humble and ready to rumble. rock and roll ~~

Captain Coon

2007-12-19T13:31:00.001-08:00

Captain Evan Coon the 3rd, high sea whaler and pscych drummer extraordinarie. Born in a typhoon off the coast of the Virgin Islands in 1856, his family made their way north via the Mississippi River and eventually settled in Chicago, Il. Captain Coon began whaling the great Lake Michigan a few years later after purchasing a large sea vessel with some money he made off a small money, black market excursion. Within three years, Captain Coonbe had grown his fleet to nearly 300 vessels, wreaking havoc on the fresh water Great Lake Whales that once ruled the Great Lakes. You can guess why you've never seen or heard about the whales, as Captain Coonbe's Whaling Whalers decimated the population to a mere 12 whales within 5 years. These whales were kept at the Captain's HQ and bred profusely (overseen by the Captain himself) thus ensuring a whale monopoly on the Great Lakes. Now, 100 some years later, Captain Coon has emerged as our liquid flow stlye, psych drum beater and hasn't skipped a beat. He plans to release his fresh water whales one day and re-open the Great Lakes Whaling Company for business, just his business of course. Coon Ahoy~

Walk, Talk, Rhythym, Roam tracklist

2007-11-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here it is friends:

1. Numb
2. Nightwind
3. Walk, Talk, Rhythym, Roam
4. Kerry Mills
5. Refugee
6. Without You
7. Forrest Fire
8. Depth Charge
9. Something You Do
10. Leaf in the Breeze
11. Roll the Breakers
12. Venus Fly Trap

We have some shows coming up around the Champaign area in Nov/Dec. The band is planning to hit the road in the spring of 08' in support of this new record. I will post new developments such as release dates, tours, and press as they happen.

Big ups to Mike Lust at the Phantom Manor Studios for helping us birth this baby. ONE LOVE~

-beebs

This, from a Harper's Magazine section called "Specific Suggestions"

2007-11-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

"Of all the various depredations of the Bush regime, none has been so thorough as its plundering of hope. Iraq will recover sooner. What was supposed to have been the crux of our foreign policy—a shock-and-awe tutorial on the utter futility of any opposition to the whims of American power—has achieved its greatest and perhaps its only lasting success in the American soul. You will want to cite the exceptions, the lunch-hour protests against the war, the dinner-party ejaculations of dissent, though you might also want to ask what substantive difference they bear to grousing about the weather or even to raging against the dying of the light—that is, to any ritualized complaint against forces universally acknowledged as unalterable. Bush is no longer the name of a president so much as the abbreviation of a proverb, something between Murphy’s Law and tomorrow’s fatal inducement to drink and be merry today.

If someone were to suggest, for example, that we begin a general strike on Election Day, November 6, 2007, for the sole purpose of removing this regime from power, how readily and with what well-practiced assurance would you find yourself producing the words “It won’t do any good”? Plausible and even courageous in the mouth of a patient who knows he’s going to die, the sentiment fits equally well in the heart of a citizen-ry that believes it is already dead."

party party... Independent Media is the truth~ the corporate media lies to you...lies are no good

2007-10-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Bastante Ya!

2007-10-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

this report by Fox news is so ludicrous its well...ridiculous. any person out there needing more proof of Fox's fear mongering agenda is well... shit out of luck. if the american people don't get it now, they never will.

-beebs

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Fox_hypes_Qaeda_plotted_fires_theory_1025.html

2007-10-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

the new record is complete~

2007-10-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

and we will be playing the songs live in Champaign, IL on Friday October 26th at the Cowboy Monkey in support of the Black Angels.

psych jams all around, there is a spirit in the air. is it hope? is it anger? is it love? is it all of these emotions and more? I think so. a new wind is blowing across the prairies of illinois, the winds of change are here... can you hear the wind? can you hear the howls of the good souls that we're cut down before us? can you hear the moans of the human suffering on our soil and in distant lands? are you ready to stop feeding the empire? if so, then lets jam. remember, if you're fed up with the system, you gotta dig deep to really understand your unhappiness with the status quo. thats right kids, read some books. the 60's didn't change anything, the same problems the hippies were fighting are the ones we are all so complacent about today. racism is everywhere, and the priviledged few are managing to get an even tighter grip on humanity and mother earth. now is the time to really understand the struggle and to try and see through the thick haze of lies that our culture plaster's thick over our eyes. stand up, love, live, feel, dance... Walk, Talk, Rhythym, Roam

see you at the show friends,

much love,
-beebs

big ups to our urbana champaign family

2007-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks for coming out to the show last night friends. It felt very good to be with you all.

We'll be back to CU in September with a new record... until then.

xoxo

thou shalt not kill...right?

2007-08-19T12:42:00.001-07:00

Studio time, live shows...

2007-08-02T19:14:00.001-07:00

Everyone's favorite garage rock/psych songwriters are back on the peace path, this time choosing Phantom Manor studios as their syndicate sound spot. Wading nimbly through a summer slough with our midrange mayhem at the end of August up in Chicago. Famed Chicago rock and roller, Mike Lust will be co-producing the record with us. We will exit the studio in September with a new batch of shimmy shake, psych garage swagger that we're known for. Get with it people, the power is YOURS! We'll have copies of the new record at shows later this fall, and we plan to arrange a national release for next spring.

In the meantime, we'll be bringing the new songs to life at two important events.
Saturday August 18th at the Cowboy Monkey in Champaign, Il w/the Redwalls
Friday September 21st at the Highdive in Champaign, IL for the Pygmalion Festival w/Sybris, Dark Meat, the Beauty Shop and more.

xoxo

2007-07-17T15:00:00.001-07:00

Jobes got hit by a stingray while swimming in the Pacific Ocean. This kind of stuff ONLY happens to Jobe. But he took in in stride, downing some numb juice with a few numbee pills, and before long he was kickin' it with Coonbe and I out on the balcony. The half hour period between Jobes stingray venom comedown and his eventual collapse into deep sleep was some of the funniest shit I have ever witnessed. Complete with a naked monologue concerning the crippling of a particular photographer if certain photos were ever say, posted on this blog. This really is a rad photo. Stingray venom is a potent mix of calcium and protein, once injected one most endure a 3 hour period of intense physical and emotional pain. You're a champ Jobes~

New Record on the way

2007-07-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

The Living Blue will be hitting the studio at the end of August to record our fourth LP. I will post a tracklist and album title as they develop. We are currently unsigned, but we'll have copies of the new record at our shows this fall, and hope to have a proper release by next spring. Also, keep an eye out for a new website, and merch. Much love friends. xoxo

Republicans (and Democrats too!) call it "Free Enterprise"

2007-07-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Take back whats ours

2007-07-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Polish folks taking back what was theirs in the early 1980's ... Solidarity Now~

Here's an idea. Let's all get together and make right what we all know (or should know) has been taken from us and been made all wrong... our government. We are the people, no? Then why have we let thieves take our economy, our national securtiy, our well being and health and trample them over, throwing these hard fought for and well earned rights to the wolves for the massive profit of very few "Americans". Neo-cons and Neo-liberals are not Americans. They have no country, they have no people, they are alone and isolated on top of heaps of blood drenched, worthless US dollars. Let's all stand up and take back what is ours, our country. Have a happy 4th fellow patriots.

xoxo

new recordings, fresh starts

2007-05-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

life feels fresh in the springtime. fresh and clear.

As some of you already know, we've been working on new material for quite some time now. We plan to record the songs properly this summer. I'll be posting demo's, outtakes, and live tracks on the myspace for now.

in the meantime, here are some live shows:

Sunday June 10th @the Highdive Champaign, IL w/the Dirty Novels, Black Tie Revue

Thursday June 14th @the Good Hurt Los Angeles, CA w/To Live and Die (Bradley Scott's Birthday bash~) www.bradleyscott.net

xo

this was scary today, but...

2007-04-17T03:04:00.000-07:00

it wasn't even 1/3rd of the amount of human beings killed today in Iraq

http://www.stuffed.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=353&Itemid=29

Kurt Vonnegut passes

2007-04-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

What a mind, what a human he was. His legacy will live on forever.

Long live his words.

bullshit detector

2007-04-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, as if we didn't already worry about our country heading towards a complete police state. I just saw a banner ad on Myspace advertising "Homeland Security Education". Using these words as incentive, "Fight Crime, Fight Terrorism" this "university of homeland security" is some kind of bullshit. Keep your bullshit detectors finely tuned my friends. If you really want to fight terrorism, protest the war in Iraq, the coming war with Iran, and fight to impeach Bush and Cheney. Otherwise get ready for a full on police state. They will try to turn brother against brother, but we will ignore their lies and band together as people to overcome.

twist it up

2007-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20030701/heavy-marijuana-use-doesnt-damage-brain

FREE SHOW IN CHICAGO APRIL 15th

2007-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

at Quenchers (on the corner of Fullerton and Western)

this show is free friends...free~ they have free popcorn there too. we're gonna do a live recording of the show as well, come be a part of history.

(photo by David J. Cubberly)

East Coast tour May 07'

2007-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

We're gonna take a little trip out east with our friends "Suburban Kids with Biblical Names" from Sweden. here are the dates:

May 1st - Boston, MA @Great Scott
May 2nd- Washington, DC @the Red and Black
May 3rd- Baltimore, MD @the Lo-Fi Social Club
May 4th- Portland, MN @ University show
May 5th- New York City @Piano's

We've got a lot of new music for your ears. ay yi yi~ xoxo

i like it when its plain as day, right as rain, what a shame

2007-03-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

http://sundaymag.ca/index.php?id=718

pick up what they're putting down

2007-02-08T01:12:00.000-08:00

Passion for our employer, manager, current job? Irrelevant. Passion for our profession and the kind of work we do? Crucial. If I own company FOO, I don't need employees with a passion for FOO. I want those with a passion for the work they're doing. The company should behave just like a good user interface -- support people in doing what they're trying to do, and stay the hell out of their way.

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2007/02/dont_ask_employ.html

quite the story book...

2007-02-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.tunkki.biz/warning.jpg

Rolling Stone Europe

2007-01-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Joe and Stephen did an interview for Rolling Stone during our tour of Europe.

hey France, we're sorry

2006-12-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

check this

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/content/pic3257.jpg

big ups to Mr. Zinn

2006-12-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

keepin' it real~

happy holidays

2006-12-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

~End All War~ ~Fight Fear With Love~

This holiday season, love the one you're with with everything you've got. Cause it's all you'll ever need, in a world as cold as ice... xoxo

touring Europe with The Saints

2006-10-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

we will be in Europe at the end of October. we are touring with punk rock legends, the Saints. our record, for which this blog is named, will be released in Europe on November 6th 2006 via Boxson Records. our music is worldwide. lets drink some wine!

here are the dates, in french:

01 NOV : PARIS - MAROQUINERIE + THE SAINTS & RODRIGUEZ
02 NOV : COLMAR - LE GRILLEN + THE SAINTS
03 NOV : TERVILLE/METZ - SALLE DES FETES + THE SAINTS + LA SOURIS DEGLINGUEE
04 NOV : REIMS - LA CARTONNERIE + THE SAINTS
05 NOV : DIJON - concert dans magasin de disque TBC +THE SAINTS
07 NOV : MUNSTER - GLEISS 22 (Allemagne) + THE SAINTS
08 NOV : EINDHOVEN - EFFENAR (Hollande) + THE SAINTS
09 NOV : BRUXELLES - TBA (Belgique)
10 NOV : BEAUVAIS - L'OUVRE BOITE + THE SAINTS
11 NOV : MONTBRONN - FESTIVAL PALMES & OLIVES + THE SAINTS
12 NOV : ROTTERDAM - WATERFRONT (Hollande) + THE SAINTS

Gimme back my bike!

2006-09-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

this is a photo of the Ucreeech brothas layin' it down. photo by elise mccauley

I had my bike stolen by some local hooligans recently. She WAS a beauty, a 58' schwinn (sp?)I affectionatly titled "El Tornado Rojo". I had left it unlocked behind my house and to my horror the following morning, she was gone. I felt like shit cause that was the bike Lacie bought me for my birthday a couple years back. But what can ya do...I had faith in my neighbors that it wasn't them who stole it. About a week later, I'm havin' a little get together with some friends. I'm layin a needle down on a Budos Band record ("Up From the South" is the jam)you know, workin the room...feelin it. I hear Amy on the porch say, "Hey steve, is that your bike?". My ears prick up and i rush out the door just in time to see a local rudeboy rollin down the street with his buddies. I recognized her right away, i could tell by her frame it was her. Lacie flipped a lid, Colin and I calmed her and thought of the best way to handle the sitch. We decided to simply confront them and ask them why they destroyed my bike. You see, El Tornado Rojo was no longer the crimson red with white wall tires, she had been brutishly spray painted a royal blue! Tires, wheels, spokes, everything except the seat. When i approached the theif, I commented "hey man, thats a nice bike man" and then when his grimy ass came off the seat, I saw the crimson red leather and the big "S" and I said "that's my muthafuckin' bike!". I proceeded to grab my bicycle and gently took her from the misguided youth. His friends acted tough for a second, until I gave them the look of death. We then returned to my house with the lady across the street yelling "don't you call no cops!" ha! like I'm gonna call the cops! thats a good one lady! NO, but I'm gonna tell you that you're theivin' little thug of a boy destroyed my bicycle. Anyhow, they won't be lifting anymore cycles from my lot. I bought a few locks suckas~ oh and i must add this "El Tornado Rojo" will ride again in all of her splendor!!

xo,
-s

2006-06-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

photo credit- elise mcauley boyeeee!
We are very sad to announce that our longtime drummer, Mark Schroder, has decided to leave the group. Mark's spririted rythyms will always be at our back, in our hearts. We are gonna miss him very much, and we all ready do.
Moving forward, we are very happy to introduce our new drummer, Andrew Coon!! Andrew played drums for a long time with Chicago post punk group Quatre Tete' and is quite the percussionist. Plus we now have an all andy rythym section. We'd also like to give big ups to our brother Ben Ucherek (the creech) for filling in on the skins during the transition. Ben is the best fuckin drummer I know, the Beauty Shop is lucky to have im'. thanks creech! ok so, all thats figured out...lets get back to rockin eh? yea!

Rock and Roll Summer 06'

2006-05-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

july 7 - des moines - vaudeville mews*
july 8 - minneapolis - EARLY - 7th St. Entry*
july 8 - minneapolis - LATE - 7th St. Entry*
july 9 - chicago - abbey pub*
july 10 - hamtramck - the belmont*
july 18 - lexington - the dame*
july 19 - nashville - the basement*
july 20 - st. louis - cicero's*
july 21 - lawrence, KS - jackpot saloon

* w/ Dressy Bessy

then we do these shows:
july 22 - champaign - Champaign Skate Park
july 23 - wicker park fest

then we go out west !! :
july 31 - champaign - the highdive$
august 1 - columbia - eastside tavern
august 2 - kansas city - record bar
august 3 - omaha - o'leavers
august 4 - denver - the hi-dive
august 5 - salt lake city - kilby ct.
august 6 - off/drive
august 7 - billings - level 504 gallery
august 8 - missoula - the raven
august 9 - seattle - sunset tavern
august 10 - portland - towne lounge
august 11 - chico, CA - off limits
august 12 - reno - satellite
august 13 - fresno - tokyo garden
august 14 - san francisco, CA - bottom of the hill
august 15 - los angeles - silverlake lounge
august 16 - tucson - tba
august 17 - las cruces - the bean
august 18 - austin - room 710
august 19 - dallas - the cavern
august 20 - dallas - good records IN-STORE
august 21 - hot springs - the exchange
august 22 - little rock - whitewater tavern
august 23 - st. louis - off broadway
august 24 - milwaukee - cactus club*
august 25 - chicago - schubas*
august 26 - urbana - the Sweetcorn Festival (early show)
august 26 - urbana - the iron post (late show)
august 27 - urbana - the canopy club*

$ w/ Husky Rescue
* w/ Headlights, Decibully

see ya at the shows friends!

2006-02-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

we are back... from our tour...

big special hugs to all of our friends, both old and new, for hangin out with us.

we love you all...

we're gonna work on our new record, and do another tour in April.

Winter Tour begins today

2006-01-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

it's sunny outside. my head hurts. i just read a completely half-assed mini review of our record previewing the show tonight in Chicago. it was in the Reader. it makes me wonder why they even bother running a vicious almost malicious write up such as that. what good does that do anyone? if he didn't like our record...why not write about the Paybacks record? the ol' toad that wrote this thing is obviously a bitter ass old man that doesn't know ambition and drive when he fuckin' hears it. i think the Reader should update some of it's writers. its funny too, they've been pretty good to us thus far. god, what a fuck.

so yea, the tour starts today. the show last night was alot of fun. dressy bessy can get down with it for sure. fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun...thats all i want is fun. fuck! fuck shit man. <---wobbly

come out to the shows...don't listen to bitter old critics...rock and roll is alive and well.

signing off-s

thermal underwear...

2005-12-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

is a must in the wilds of Ohio! especially when there is no heat in the van. we've seen this before. January 2004, for some strange reason, we did a tour out to NYC in the dead of winter. our heater went out halfway through Indiana and we had to drive all the way to Pittsburgh with no heat. I was already down with the flu, and my wisdon teeth had just decided to start popping out of my gums. made for a miserable few days. but I guess thats a relatively small price to pay for obtaining all that wisdom. definatley worth it. pain is what you make it, like anything else.

So yeah, can't really complain about this one. the van is in the shop, and we are nice and cozy here at Mark's cabin.

We have learned our lesson and will be touring the SOUTHERN half of the state starting January 2006. we'll be hitting both coasts and everything in between. ya ya ayyy!!

"have you ever got the feeling, man... you've been led along" I sometimes get a feeling that none of this war hungry craziness can be stopped. a hopelessness that maybe we did let them go too far. how did we let things get this bad? are we really that ignorant? come on humans, get with it. it's even begun to effect my interaction with some of my family. I guess I've just had enough of our indifference and apathy as "Americans". I am tired of this no culture, plastic ass, Wal Mart owned, race car drivin' country. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and moved to Odell, Il when I was 12. Being integrated into that small town life at a junior high age was tough. My parents became god fearing christians and I became aware that I was in for a long ride to adult hood. Go to Pontiac Il sometime. its a perfect shining example of the white man's utopia. I think there were like... two black famalies in town. It was like the whole place ooozed of good ol' american heartland schlock. and here I was, stuck for 6 years in this conservative haven. My parents stopped talking about college after they helped my older sister get through financially. they couldn't afford to send all five of us to college. instead, I started hearing about the army, and how I could travel, and "become a man", and then have my college paid for afterwards. but I knew what a guy like me would end up doing...diggin ditches in the desert doesn't sound appealing at any age. oh yeah, and just how may 18 year old human beings relish the thought of being mentally and physically dominated for 4 of the best years of their lives?? I'd had enough of my drill seargant at home. subjecting myself to another testosterone tyrant at will was not probable at that point. I would have made a terrible soldier. i can't stand being ordered around...i can't stand "herd" mentality. my dad used to call my brother and i "meatheads" all the time...yet he takes advice and forms his political views off of one of the biggest "meatheads" our sad excuse for a media has produced...Rush Limbaugh. Being home for the recent holiday, in which we celebrate the diplomacy and compassion of those beloved Pilgrim's as they tamed the savage beasts, and hearing that blowhard on my dad's radio was a scary thing. nothing new though. I guess I just thought maybe he'd have gotten it by now. parents just don't understand. mine don't anyway.

well now it looks like there is more ways than one to pimp out our working class. its sad how easily people can be bought. mercenaries of a new kind. extreme truck driving...fuckin' a. all for some gas in the tank. I'm a big fan of this print/online publication

www.inthesetimes.com

oh yeah, Morrocco is my new favorite country. followed closely and likely to be outdone in the near future by Spain (my alltime favorite country) Poland has let me down. let's tour Spain guys.

East Coast Tour fall 05'

2005-11-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

hey yo...

we are very stoked to be getting back to NYC after our trip to LA.

the shows have been thrilling as of late. these songs seem to get better with age.

i smell a live record. oh and some B sides...I found a few outtakes from the Fire, Blood, Water session, that are pretty rad. maybe i'll throw one up on myspace.

we got videos. "Tell Me Leza" is done. a video for "State Of Affairs" is on the way. and we've more recently begun pre-production work on a video for "Serrated Friend"

we're gonna play a New Years Eve show at the Iron Post in Urbana Il!!! its with the Beauty Shop, Headlights, Tractor Kings, Shipwreck, Bailey and more. we will dance!

ok so, show the world you believe in something... check the myspace page for those east coast dates....xoxox0

"if the war goes on"

One Beat

2005-10-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Say what you want to
I refuse to listen
killing with one word
taking by your rule
living to consume
how can I just sit here like I'm fooled

Do what you must now
we will not bend
we're yours to kill now
somehow it offends
you don't understand
how can I just sit here like I'm fooled

Out in the street tonight
there's a feeling, a trend
we will move to one beat tonight
making our amends
scheming our advance
living life the only way we know

Tell Me Leza

2005-10-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

It's a feeling, everybody lies
it carries with it a sound
to make this young life wither and die
and if you're in the mood, thats the moment I will pry
so I know, yes I know your name
do you feel that a secret can become a lie?
when your backs on the wall and your heart is as black as mine
tell me Leza why

Cut through canebrake
deep into cold souls
who've done nothing but live as those before them buried in the soil
and If you want to love
listen to their toil
so you know, yes you know their pain
the labors hard and the end is the only gain
but, I'm not human and I only have myself to blame
so don't ask me why

Stop your tears boy, everybody cries
it carries with it a sound to make the vultures circle the sky
no you must stand tall, stick it in their eye
so they know, yes the know your pain
we will sing our songs from the hollows of our shallow graves
and it won't be long till you see us and we say your name
tell me Leza why

Conquistador

2005-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Life in slow motion
days go by with every inch
you've caused a commotion
her words unravel every stich

I won't leave these ruins, they're the only place I know
I'm crossing your ocean, to dock upon a bloody shore

Can't you hear them knockin'?
they're bangin' on my windows, walls
through these brick coffins
the cold north wind blows

I won't leave this city, it's the only place I know
I'm like a dead motor, stalled down on the road below

It's the struggle runnin' through my brain
coursing patterns across the hills and plains

In a split second
everything around changes
feel the flames that flicker
watch your skin begin to crawl

I won't be consumed in your black and fiery night
I'm crossing your ocean, sittin' in the pale twilight

Meet me in the dead of night
out beneath the spanish moon
you will sleep no more in fright
I'll free yourself from sorrow, gloom

Won't you listen to me
on this the eve of our farewell
I'm crossing your ocean
a bloody conquistador

It's the struggle runnin' through my veins
tracing patterns cross the hills and plains

Serrated Friend

2005-08-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

There is this question that remains
is this pleasure or is this pain?
who are you what is your name?
tell me where you're from and why you came

I've got an obsession with mad moods
maybe I'll win maybe I'll lose
life's been good knock on wood
life's been rough, I've had enough

I know about the consequence
the thought brings me to my senses
and what could happen again
it took so long to mend

I lost so much blood
but it was for my own good
yet bad days knives and skin
make my troubles begin

So I ask my serrated friend, for a translation

All those numbers in your head
they don't count when you are dead
all those visions in your eyes
they don't matter when your alive

So I ask my serrated friend, for a translation

gearing up

2005-08-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

we're gettin' ready for this new record to drop.

we have some mp3's online at www.mintyfresh.com where you can hear
"Serrated Friend" and "Tell Me Leza" ...you can also hear and download these two songs at our myspace page www.myspace.com/thelivingblue

we are very excited to be playing the Chicago Showcase at CMJ on September 15th at Arlene's Grocery in NYC!! these lots of information about the showcase at
www.rwimchicago.com

Joe and I have been writing and recording some new songs at the Bueana Vista studio in Urbana.

Mark is living comfortably out in the woods of Ohio. he's been making (and partaking of) wine and hard apple cider and feelin' real good about life and the near future.

Andrew is hard at work with his other band the Chemicals. they're recording some songs right now.

They're gonna play with us at the cd release show... along with the M's. they're on Brilliante Records...a sweet indie label out of Chicago. the show is September 29th at the Highdive in Champaign, IL and it's 7$. we're gonna have the new record available there.

our fearless manager, Glen Phillips, is back from vacation and hard at work securing us tour dates for the coming months. so keep an eye on the website for shows and such later this fall.
xo
-stephen
thelivingblue

Fire, Blood, Water ...tracklist

2005-07-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

here it is folks:

1. State of Affairs
2. Murderous Youth
3. Tell Me Leza
4. Serrated Friend
5. Greenthumb
6. She Bleeds Pink
7. Secrets
8. One Beat
9. Wishlist
10. Conquistador

She Bleeds Pink

2005-07-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Some kinda love
may find you dead
something above or behind you
find an alternative to use instead
so your past won't come back to remind you

They have nothing new to tell you
but they have ideas that they'll sell you

Some kinda love
may want you here
the thought alone keeps me waiting
and this may be just what you wanted to hear
but its hard to stop debating

Theres no one else I would say this to
I'd go to hell with you

She bleeds pink in a town where she thinks
that no one cares what she has seen or heard
she still dreams about a life incomplete
where one day I hope she'll have the final word

Wishlist

2005-07-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

The shame gang walking with their heads low
down in the valley where the river flows
into the alleyways they make their retreat

The sane gang riding on their high horse
into the sunset, they've been led off course
off into other worlds they bring their deceit

Well I came here lookin' for a reason
to try and stir up some treason
have you ever got the feeling man, you've been led along

And I'm lookin' right through where you've just been
straight through the walls made of thick cement
have you ever got the feeling man, you've been done all wrong

But I wish to shake your soul, and they wish to break your bones
you ain't shown me nothin' I ain't never seen before
so I show you the door

I'm sittin' tight waiting on a killer
wonderin' which city I'm bound to be in
sleep comes quickly to those who seek its release

But I came here looking for a reason
to try and stir up some treason
have you ever got the feeling man, you've been done all wrong

State Of Affairs

2005-07-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

I got something to say now
open up your ears and hear
I'm seein' clear now
close my eyes you disappear

I don't even mind it
comin' from the likes of you, you're so misunderstood

I want to hear
I want every single note to hang
I'm here to give you half a life full of pain

you won't even mind me staring off into the sky
its what gets me by

The trouble is son
I just can't seem to get it right
all day long I'm entangled in a dreadfull plight

just please stay with me girl
even for a little while
you're what makes me smile

Understand boy you'll never find another like me
understand boy far across the open sea

just please take me with you anywhere you seem to go
but you move so slow

The air is thick with disease, but the sky is blue like the sea

Murderous Youth

2005-07-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

You are young
you must roam these streets kids
you must saturate your mind
these streets, they're layered filthy with the grime

10,ooo men with no use of their optics
but the nerve they have to try
roaming through this city as if they're blind
looking for one last good time

Mr Smith he's got what it takes boy
he gets everything done on time
and in the evening he turns to the wine

and as the night air fills his lungs
he breaths like a man on fire
the moon watches this old mans decline
then smiles for him one last time

But I'm doin' my best kid
just to feed you you're breakfast, you're gonna be ok...

The shadows are a dancin'
as the metal meets the bone
from where I sit the body seems to be prone

And the light goes dim with the flip of his whim
it turns everything to black
darkness isn't scared of your sins, daylights where my trouble begins

Yeah, I'm doin' my best son
just to make you forget you're young, you're gonna be ok...

I refuse to read your papers
yes I believe I must decline
with everything to lose why would you lie?

And the news spits out the agenda
it's got me covered to the very last dime
the moon watches this old man's decline
as I smile for him one last time

But I'm doin' my best kid
just to make you forget this, you're gonna be ok...

We have some shows coming up...

2005-06-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah...we're gonna play some shows.

here they are:

Tuesday July 5th Champaign, IL @the Cowboy Monkey w/American Minor, Shipwreck

Wednesday July 6th Chicago, Il @the Double Door w/Rock and Roll Soldiers, Civilized Age

Thursday July 7th Kalamazoo, MI @Kraftbrau Brewery w/Lacona

Friday July 8th Ann Arbor, MI @the Elbow Room w/the Bad Ways, Las Drogas

Saturday July 9th Detroit, MI @the Lager House w/the Blame

Thursday July 21st Cincinatti, OH @Northside Tavern w/the Staggering Statistics

Friday July 22nd Indianapolis, IN @Alleycat Midwest Music Summit Showcase...we play at 5:45pm sharp!

Saturday July 23rd Urbana, Il @Canopy Club w/tba

We just finished mixing our new record which will be available this fall on Minty Fresh Records. Come out and hear the new songs live!!